Mercabarna, IRTA (Institute of Agriculture and Food Research and Technology) – through its partner CENTA (Centre for New Food Technologies and Processes) – and KIMbcn, a company that carries out technological assessments, will implement a project to detect the technological requirements of precinct companies.

This initiative is included in the Strategic Plan put in place by the food companies' cluster that Mercabarna is promoting to boost competitiveness in companies located in the Food Unit.

On 12 May, around thirty businessmen and women attended the event to mark the presentation of this project, to be developed in two phases.

The first will be the execution of an individual technological audit for any companies that request one, in which the technology used in their production processes will be analysed. To perform this audit, a team of experts from CENTA and KIMbcn will get together and visit the participating companies. IRTA will draw up a personalised report for the company using the compiled information in which “its technological status will be defined, along with the possible means for improvement and innovation,” explained Eliecer López, Director of Development and Business at IRTA.

The second phase will consist of carrying out an audit by sector on all companies in the Food Unit, a task that will be undertaken by KIMbcn. According to Sergi Mesquida, the company's Director, this report will ascertain "the technological positioning of Mercabarna companies with respect to their sector on the whole at a local, national and international level, and will reveal the technological levels that need to be reached by the companies to maintain competitiveness in the future”.

Highly competitive price
During the presentation, Pablo Vilanova, Head of Studies and Development at Mercabarna, highlighted the competitive price that will be offered to companies participating in this project, thanks to the collaboration agreements Mercabarna has with IRTA and 22@Barcelona.
The cost of an individual audit performed by IRTA will range from €600 to €800, depending on the time spent on the visit to the company, whilst the diagnosis by sector undertaken by KIMbcn will be free of charge, as the cost is subsidised by 22@Barcelona.

Timeframe and contact
Any companies interested in taking part in this project should register before the first week of June, by contacting IRTA (Anna Masdeu: Tel. 638681721, anna.masdeu@irta.cat) or Mercabarna (Pablo Vilanova: Tel. 935563000, vilanova@mercabarna.cat).